Burnt Offering
Adventure 1 - Swallowtail Festival Complete summary here. A group of adventurer wannabes form a team ("The Drunkards") to compete in event's at Sandpoint's annual Swallowtail Festival. When the town is attacked by goblins at nightfall, the Drunkards quickly react to fight off several waves of goblins. They meet some important townsfolk like tavern owner Ameiko Kaijitsu (spice girl), mayor Kendra Deverin, sheriff Balor Hemlock, priest Father Zantus and noble Aldern Foxglove. Adventure 2 - Local Heroes Complete details can be found in Local Heroes. The Drunkards are being regarded as town saviors. A number of townsfolk approach them with various tasks, favours, or other requests. Interactions with noble Aldern Foxglove, town bicycle Shayliss Vinder, local ranger Shalelu Andosana and Sheriff Hemlock ensue. After the Drunkards help the Sheriff discover that the bones of the previous town priest Ezakien Tobyn are missing, the sheriff asks the Drunkards to stay around town while he goes to the city of Magnimar to request more guards. A couple of days after the drunkards witness an argument between Ameiko Kaijitsu and her father Lonjiku Kaijitsu, Ameiko is reported missing, with the only clue being a note left by her (half) brother Tsuto suggesting that their father may have been involved in orchestrating the goblin attack. Adventure 3.1 - The Glassworks Complete summary here. The Drunkards, now joined by new member Kaycee, go to the glassworks looking for Ameiko. They find the main level of the place overrun with goblins who slaughtered the workers and owner Lonjiku Kaijitsu (Ameiko and Tsuto's father). In the basement, they find Ameiko bound, but unharmed, and discover that Tsuto orchestrated the goblin attack along with his love Nualia. According to Tsuto's journal, Nualia (adopted daughter of the dead priest who's bones were stolen) is attempting a ritual which will turn herself into a demon, and is willing to destroy the town to complete the ritual. She has seduced Tsuto, enlisted a quasit (a type of demon), is working with the Thistletop goblins to complete her plan, and may be using the smuggling tunnels under the glassworks to gain access to the town. The Drunkards seal up the smuggling tunnels and bring Tsuto to the town guards. Adventure 3.2/3.3 - The Catacombs Complete summary here The Drunkards go back to the glassworks to investigate the smuggling tunnels. They find the natural caverns lead to a definitely unnatural place, seemingly a temple of some kind carved into the stone under the town. Evil creatures called sin spawn (apparently summoned from outside this plane of existence by the power of pure sin) are stalking the tunnels. The Drunkards also find an obviously evil cathedral-like chamber, populated by a quasit (presumably the same one mentioned in Tsuto's journal) whom the party is able to eventually defeat (although a few stupid mistakes by our paladin caused the creation of more sin spawn, and one party member to be overcome by wrath). The cathedral contains some kind of pool which is powered by blood and sin. After the battle, the party goes back to the surface to rest up, then continues exploring the catacombs. In addition to more sin spawn, they find a chamber with a hideously deformed goblin and several trapped zombies. Good thinking and planning by the party members leads to fairly one-sided fight, and the treasure rooms beyond are looted by the group. A staircase leading up (presumably to the surface?) is found to be blocked. Finally, as the party is exploring the last tunnel in the catacombs, the party, Rubick in particular, is attacked by a hideous flying head with tentacles on its chin and head and leathery wings for ears. This creature paralyzed Rublick before "kissing" him, but the other party members are able to subsequently defeat the creature. Beyond the room with the creature, the group finds what appears to be a staircase that at one time descended down but at present is filled with rubble and impassable. Triumphant and exhausted they return to the Rusty Dragon where Akus anxiously awaits their return so that he can tell them of all of his unwitnessed heroics about town. Adventure 4.1 - Thistletop Approach Being good people (or at least wanting the fame and glory that comes with doing great deeds) the Drunkards decide to confront Nualia at Thistletop and prevent the imminent attack on Sandpoint. Before they go however, Rubick wakes up feeling sicker than his normal hangover, and finds he is bald. The other Drunkards direct him to Father Zantus, who identifies the curse of the vargoulle. One cure disease later (which also clears up the chlamydia Rubick caught from Shayliss) and the adventurers are on their way. Rubick will be rocking the Patrick Stewart look for a few weeks though. Clang, of course, insists on riding his mighty steed despite its impracticality in the tight quarters of the forest. The arrive at the Nettlewood, and try to find Thistletop. After hours of searching (including bumping into a batch of goblin berries) they finally find a maze of nettles, and locate an entrance. The drunkards go in, despite having to stoop to move around. The place is littered with the tracks of goblins and goblin dogs. Kaycee notices the it appears something has been dragged along some of the tunnels, and the party elects to follow the tracks. They soon come to a chamber, with what appears to be a well (50' or more deep). Continuing to follow the tracks, the party finds a sort of kennel for goblin dogs. 12 stakes are present, as are 4 dogs themselves. Mir and Kaycee manage to kill two dogs before the others break free. The two then retreat back to the well chamber where the rest of the party has prepared an ambush. The other dogs are quickly dispatched by Rubick and Clang. Unfortunately, the commotion has also alerted a goblin druid and his familiar, a firepelt cougar. The druid sends a bird messenger somewhere, presumably to warn the other goblins. The druid uses his nature abilities to walk through the walls of the nettle maze, and attacks the heroes while his cougar catches up. A well timed attack by Clang with his new ranseur disrupts one of the druid's entangle spells, allowing the Drunkards to get the upper hand in the battle. Wounded, the druid retreats back into the nettles. The adventurers waste no time in following the drag marks, the logic being to get away from a place where the druid can attack on his terms. They soon arrive at a rickety bridge, which crosses from the mainland to Thistletop itself. As Rubick covers the way they came, Kaycee looses a few arrows at the goblins and goblin dogs patrolling Thistletop. They spot the adventures, and attack across the bridge. Clang and Mir set up an effective choke point, aided by Rubick's grease ''while Kaycee continues to take pot shots at the approaching creatures. The guards are dispatched without issue, and the Drunkards cross the bridge (one at a time, as they don't trust it) to arrive on Thistletop island. Adventure 4.2 -- Thistletop Upper Level The party begins to search the fortress on Thistletop, which appears to have been built from driftwood and scavenged shipwrecks. The stealthy approach, attempted by Mir, results in a roof collapse, which alerts a good many goblins to the adventurer's precise location. Rubick's colour-spray and grease allowed the heroes to gain the upper hand and defeat a large mass of goblins, at the cost of expending many spells. Continuing to search, the apparent throne room of Warchief Ripnugget (and Stickfoot) is found. Elite guards and a warchanter accompany the chief, who proves to be a fearsome foe. Quick thinking leads to the the warchanter being silenced, and Clang engages Ripnugget in some mighty evil-smiting hand-to-hand combat, while the others dispatch the lesser goblins. Many spells (Kranks and Rubick saving the party), and devastating blows (Mir and Clang and Kaycee dispatching goblins) later, the Drunkards are left standing, but exhausted. Searching the remainder of the level, the adventurers meet no more resistance of note (although they do find a horse, apparently left in a stable to starve to death, and an apparent pickle-heist). While looting, they also discover what seems to be the tribe's hidden treasure room. Kaycee gets injured by a trap on the lock of the chest, but it doesn't look too bad (at least for now...) They gather the many trinkets and valuables that they have plundered thus far, and lock them up to fetch later. Barricading the door to Ripnugget's chambers, the party decide to catch a breather before searching the lower levels of the fort for signs of Nualia. Adventure 4.3.1 -- Thistletop Lower Level The Drunkards wake up in Ripnugget's room with spells and abilities replenished, although they do not yet know that Kaycee has contracted tetanus. As they emerge from the room, they find an unexpected visitor: the goblin druid Gogmurt (who escaped from the party earlier). Gogmurt claims that he is worried for his tribe -- leadership has been taken over by several longshanks ("the witch", "the armoured man", and "the white haired cleric", alongside the bugbear Bruthazmus). Gogmurt wants the Drunkards to show mercy on goblins they encounter. Gogmurt promises to start a new tribe -- one which will keep to themselves and not attack the humans. He gives the Drunkards a token of his to help convince the goblins to leave, and tells them all he knows (which is not much). He then panics and retreats, presumably back to the Nettlewood. As the adventurers descend to the lower levels in search of Nualia, they are hit be a vision from ages long past -- cultists at Thistletop performing some kind of ritual. What does this mean? Surly, powerful magics are afoot. The party enters what apparently is a dining hall, littered with evidence of long goblin occupation. Goblin voices from an ante-room can be heard. The drunkards can see four goblins through a rickety door. Clang, attempting to stay true to his promise to Gogmurt tells the goblins to leave with their lives. Two of the goblins are armed, and attack the party, while two others are panicked and screaming for help in a corner "Bruthazmus, Bruthazmus!". The Drunkards dispatch the two armed goblins quickly, as they hear sounds of something big coming down a hallway. They tell the remaining two goblins to go -- one listens, the other does not and is killed quickly. Knowing that the bugbear is coming, Mir has an idea -- he and Clang set up a trip rope where the hallway enters the room, and place Kaycee in a visible position to use as bait. The bugbear rounds the corner, wearing a necklace of ears. Seeing Kaycee (whom he mistakes for a half-elf) he makes a comment about adding Kaycee's ears to his collection and looses an arrow at the ranger (who neatly dodges the missile) before drawing his flail. Knowing how much the death of Bruthazmus will enrage her sister, Shalelu, Kaycee taunts the bugbear into continuing his charge, as her arrows continue to make him porous. Mir and Clang spring their trap as Bruthazmus enters the room, and send him to the ground. The Drunkards' melee specialists surround the creature, pick their targets, and bring an end to the bugbear. But wait! What's that? There's someone else -- a human -- standing at the end of the corridor, apparently deciding not to attack the party single-handedly. Obviously a mercenary, the man (presumably "the armoured man" of whom Gogmurt spoke) introduces himself as Orik. Orik was hired by Nualia and her crew, but has tired of the job and wants to get gone. He tells the PCs that if they pay his way to Magnimar, he'll guide the PCs to Nualia and help end her reign. While the party doesn't quite trust Orik, they agree. Orik and the PCs check out the bed chambers, the prison, and make their was past a temple, and a room where goblins are fed to a sea monster (where, according to Orik, there's treasure!). They finally arrive at war room (which is as deep into the fortress as Orik has gone). Using their brains for the second time in history, let alone in the same dungeon, the Drunkards hatch a plan to lure out "the witch" (named Lyrie, according to Orik). Orik will pretend to have captured Kranks, and call Lyrie out into the open, while the other PCs will ambush the witch. The plan goes extremely well, with the magic user overpowered before she can escape or use her spells. The party descends down another flight of stairs, to a remarkably flat and level surface with no slant at all. As they do so, they receive more visions -- of cultists performing rituals, and of a hell-cat trapped here years ago. The party finds, triggers, and eventually elects just to jump over a trap between two statues, but they probably alerted others on the floor to their presence. Proceeding through a door, they encounter Nualia and her demon-hound. Kranks the cleric really steps into his own with a well placed ''silence spell cast, limiting Nualia's casting ability and preventing the hound from using howl. Out comes Clang's mighty falchion as he and Orik engage Nualia head on, dealing (and absorbing) massive damage while the rest of the part keeps the hound busy. Kaycee, in particular, proves of little value in this regard, but Mir and Kranks handle the beast. Finally, Nualia falls, ending the immediate threat to Sandpoint. As the Drunkards look through the chamber, they find journals and notes written by Nualia. It seems that a barghest ''(a demon-like creature form another plane) was captured here aeons ago, and Nuala is attempting to unleash it on Sandpoint, once she finds out how to control it. The description in the journals indicates that the creature would devour human souls until it transforms into and even greater monstrosity of power. Another question that is answered by the journals deals with the well the Drunkards found under the glassworks. It seems that this ''Runewell is powered by sin and grants the power of evil to those who use it. The known way to destroy the Runewell is to burn it out -- use it too much. In other words, much to Kaycee's chagrin, Clang actually did the right thing when he tossed the demon's body in the well... Don't tell Clang, or we'll never hear the end of it. Adventure 4.3.2 - Thistletop Lower Level Cleanup Now that the immediate threat to Sandpoint is ended, the Drunkards decide to ensure that evil (and treasure) should be removed from Thistletop. Exploring the lower level, they find a room with a painted bas relief carving of a large treasure-hoard, which seems to be confirmed by a reference to piles of gold being sent to a place called Xin-Shalast. Kaycee is able to find a small draft, which suggests there might be an passage behind the wall, and Mir finds a pair of coin-sized slots hidden at either side of the carving. Inserting a pair of gold coins, the carving opens, to reveal a passage beyond, apparently undiscovered by Nualia. Three doors are present in the passageway -- two mundane, and a third ornately covered with gruesome images. There is a small hole in the ornate door, but nothing can be seen through it. Through one of the mundane doors, the Drunkards find a room with two statues, and a pedestal. The statues are of the same man, one holding a glaive, and the other holding a book. An image of the man stands on the pedestal, glowing, apparently trying to communicate some long message long ago. Although he speaks Thaselonian, the content of the message is understood: TODO Finding nothing else of value in the room, the Drunkards proceed to the next mundane door -- as they enter, the see another vision -- a man, apparently the master of the hell-cat seen previously, descends into the chamber to perform hideous experiments on some poor creature. The remains of the experiments can be seen -- a wretched skeleton obviously transformed into something awful lays on a table. Of additional interest is an amulet shaped like a seven-pointed star, with a protrusion. This item, obviously magical, is described and sketched in Nualia's notes -- she though that it was the key to releasing the barghest Malfeshnicor, trapped somewhere in Thistletop. Returning to the ornately carved door, the party observes that the term "key" may be quite literal -- the hole in the door looks like it would accept the amulet. The Drunkards decide that the barghest is too dangerous to fight. They feel that if it cannot be defeated, then it may devestate the countryside. They decide to attempt to destroy the key when they return to Sandpoint. Having made the decision, they proceed out of the secret passageway, and find the area the Nualia was apparently actively searching. A door, at one time bricked up, has been smashed open. The room beyond seems relatively undisturbed though. At the entrance of the room, the Drunkards get another vision -- five men working on bricking up the room from the inside. Two of the men turn on the other three, killing them, then continue working. Evidence to support the vision is seen on the floor -- three demolished skeletons and two intact ones. The Drunkards are searching the room for secret doors, when, out of the corners, they are attacked by shadows. They manage to destroy the creatures, but suffer crippling strength damage doing so. They elect to continue the search of the cavern (no five minute workdays people). They find a collapse cavern which has become the lair of giant hermit crab with a massive helm for a shell. Seeing gold scattered about, but not nearly enough to justify certain death in the claws of an indestructible sea creature, the party identifies discretion as the better part of valor, and leaves. Moving back upstairs, the Drunkards rest up in the now unused bed chambers of the fort. Restored, they decide to finish off the hounds believed to be in the temple. The fight does not go as well as it could have. Since Kranks used his lesser restoration to heal strength damage, he didn't have silence to cast on the hounds. They howl quickly worked on Kaycee who fled from the fight. The rest of the Drunkards were able to kill the beasts, but took a good amount of damage doing so. The last creature to face in the dungeon was tentacled monster to whom Lyrie fed goblins. The Drunkards make their way to it's cave, dragging behind them the corpse of a goblin (whom Clang is still feeling bad about not protecting). As they approach, they see what appears to be a pile of leather bags in one corner of the cave. A closer examination reveals these "bags" to be "empty" goblins -- just skin and bones remain, with all the mushy bits inside sucked out. They toss the goblin corpse around a corner. Sure enough, a tentacle creeps over, grabs it, and drags it away. A series of utterly disgusting sucking sounds follow, and the newest "sack of bones" is tossed onto the pile. The Drunkards nope the fuck out of there and call it a day. As they're leaving Thistletop, they cut the bridge to the island from the mainland.